Teaching undergraduate mathematics: A problem solving course for first year
In this paper we describe a problem solving course for first year undergraduate mathematics students who would be future school teachers.
Mathematical problem solving for everyone: Infusion and diffusion (MInD)
This research project is an attempt to realise the ideals of mathematical problem solving, which is at the heart of the Singapore mathematics curriculum in the daily practices of mainstream mathematics classrooms. This work builds on the foundation of M-ProSE (OER 32/08 TTL) to diffuse the findings to the mainstream school curriculum. Our work involves three steps: (1) initialisation of problem solving as an essential part of the mathematics curriculum in a school at the foundational year; (2) infusion of problem solving as an embedded regular curricular and pedagogical practice across all year levels in the school, and (3) diffusion of this innovation from this school to the full range of schools in Singapore. In each of the above steps, we take a complex systems approach and include curriculum, instructional practices, assessment and teacher professional development in our overall design research process. Our current project builds upon the initial foundation of MProSE to scale out (infuse) and scale up (diffuse) the innovation to mainstream schools in Singapore, hence the project is named MInD. With the experience and data collected from MProSE research school, the design needs to be re-adjusted in order for problem solving to be diffused throughout the mainstream schools. The importance and relevance of this research project to schools is readily observed by the schools' responses: To the researchers' pleasant surprise, four mainstream schools readily expressed their commitment to participate in this research as the school leaders see the relevance of this project to their school curriculum. Further, the Principal of MProSE research school expressed his interest to get his school involved for the infusion phase(step (2)) of the research. The research team of MInD consists of the original researchers from MProSE and two more new team members. The entire team consists of expertise from different fields: mathematicians, mathematics educator, educational psychologist, curriculum specialist, senior teacher, a school principal (who is also a mathematician), an expert of change management and leadership studies, a senior MOE curriculum specialist.
Assessment in a problem solving curriculum
In this paper we elaborate on the ways for assessing problem solving that goes beyond the usual focus on the products of the problem solving process. We designed a ‘practical’ worksheet to guide the students through the problem solving process. The worksheet focuses the solver’s attention on the key stages in problem solving. To assess the students’ problem solving throughout the process, we developed a scoring rubric based on Polya’s model (1954) and Schoenfeld’s framework (1985). Student response to the practical worksheet is discussed.
Infusing problem solving into mathematics content course for pre-service secondary school mathematics teachers
This paper presents a re-design of an undergraduate mathematics content course on Introductory Differential Equations for pre-service secondary school mathematics teachers. Based on the science practical paradigm, mathematics practical lessons emphasizing problem-solving processes via the undergraduate content knowledge were embedded within the curriculum delivered through the traditional lecture-tutorial system. The pre-service teachers' performance in six mathematics practical lessons and the mathematics practical test was examined. They were able to respond to the requirements of the mathematics practical to go through the entire process of problem solving and to carry out "Look Back" at their solution: checking the correctness of their solution, offering alternative solutions, and expanding on the given problem. The use of Mathematics Practical has altered the pre-service teachers’ approach in tackling mathematics problems in a positive direction.
Teacher preparation for a problem solving curriculum
The role of the teacher is central to the success of any curriculum innovation. Thus, teachers’ professional development has become an increasingly important subject of discussion in recent education literature. In the design and implementation of the project reported here, teachers’ preparation for the problem-solving curriculum featured prominently. This paper discusses the challenges of selecting a suitable problem and ways of using it productively within a professional development programme that the authors carried out for the teachers involved in the project.
Concretisations: A support for teachers to carry out instructional innovations in the mathematics classroom
We recognize that though teachers may participate in various forms of professional development (PD) programmes, learning that they may have gained in the PD may not always lead to corresponding perceivable changes in their classroom teaching. We offer a theoretical re-orientation towards this issue by introducing a construct we term “concretisation”. Concretisations are resources developed in PD settings which can be converted into tangible tools for classroom use. In theorising such resources, we contribute in informing the design process of teacher professional development for better impact into actual classroom practice. We purport principles of design which render concretisations effective. Subsequently, we test these principles by presenting a specific case of teaching mathematical problem solving.
Reconceptualising problem solving in the school curriculum
In this paper, we discuss the development of a very specific problem solving curriculum in an independent school in Singapore as part of the first phase of our research project. We are using a design research methodology to fine-tune the problem solving curriculum in which we are introducing the mathematics practical, an idea borrowed from science education.
Mathematical problem solving for everyone: A new beginning
Mathematical problem solving has been at the core of the Singapore mathematics curriculum framework since the 1990s. We report here the features of the Mathematical Problem Solving for Everyone (M-ProSE) project which was carried out in a Singapore school to realise the learning of mathematical problem solving and as described by Pólya and Schoenfeld. A mathematics problem solving package comprising “mathematics practical” lessons and assessment rubric was trialled in the school for Grade 8 in 2009. Responses from three students show mixed perceptions to the module, but an end-of-module assessment shows that the students were able to present their solutions along Pólya’s four stages. We also describe teacher preparation for teaching the module. After the trial period, the school adopted the module as part of the curriculum and it is now a compulsory course for all Grade 8 students in that school.
Problem solving in the school curriculum from a design perspective
In this symposium, we discuss some preliminary data collected from our problem solving project which uses a design experiment approach. Our approach to problem solving in the school Curriculum is in tandem with what Schoenfeld (2007) claimed: “Crafting instruction that would make a wide range of problem-solving strategies accessible to students would be a very valuable contribution … This is an engineering task rather than a conceptual one” (p. 541). In the first paper, we look at how two teachers on this project taught problem solving. As good problems are key to the successful implementation of our project, in the second paper, we focus on some of the problems that were used in the project and discuss the views of the participating students on these problems. The third paper shows how an initially selected problem led to a substitute problem to meet our design criteria.